Harness-buckle



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OSCAR' s. BURGns, or COLUMBUS, omo.`

HARNESS-BUCKLE.

i Speccation of Letters Patent No. 5,838, dated October 10, 1848.

To all whom 2f may concern Be it known that I, OSCAR S. BURGEs, of the city of Columbus, county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented a new anc useful improvement in buckles for connecting and fastening harness, horse-gearing, straps, belts, Suspenders and for othery uses generally instead of buckles now known and in use for connecting leather and fibrous or iieXible material; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof.

The nature of my invention consists in the application of the combined principles of the slide, wedge and lever, in connection, with most of ordinary buckle frames, the wedge piece having attached to it a loop of metal through which'the end of the strap to be fastened passes, and binds so as to draw the fastening into action, forming thereby a buckle, adapted to all uses required; varying the size and form, to suit the purpose for which any buckle is designed.

To enable others skilled in the art, to make and use my invention, l will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

To the frame of a buckle A, say a single harness tug buckle of the form as shown in the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 or 6 or to any other ordinary buckle frame divested of the tongue, I make and attach a slide wedge and lever, consisting of one piece, in form as shown in the drawing Fig. 2 or 2h15 varying the projection of the lips a of the slide to suit the width o-f the opening in the frame of the buckle used, and also varying the length of the inclined plane Z) and the length of the' lever and loop c, to suit the thickness of the strap, or other material for which it is intended. The angle of the inclined plane or wedge b with the loop c should be about thirty degrees more or less, and the lever and loop parallel with the slide lips a. The inclined plane and lever from the angle to the opening through the loop at c should each be in length, about equal to once and one half the thickness of the strap or other material to be connected. The opening should be made perpendicular through the lever c forming `the loop just suflicient in size to admit the strap.

This slide wedge and lever may be made of any metal or metallic compound, either cast or wrought, suitable for the purpose, for which the buckle is designed.

To secure the slide in its place and from loss it may be attached to the strap d Fig.

3, connected with the bar of the buckle l cured by any other suitable attachment, a` .modification of which is represented in Plate 2 where the same letters are used to designate like parts as on Plate l.

' For Suspenders and other small buckles, the slide may pass over the face and hook on to the edges of the frame, without the leather loop attachment used for large and powerful buckles like the one therein described in which the rib n Fig. 6 011 the inside of the frame may be dispensed with.

The advantages of this buckle over all others are the saving of leather, say about one fourth to one third which is necessarily cut out for the tongue; the application of power to several points of the strap or material to be connected, instead of a single point as in the ordinary buckle with a tongue, thereby rendering the strap less liable to crack and more durable. It is also stronger2 not liable to become permanently fixed in its position, and is adjusted and shifted with morev ease and facility. In its operation, it is self-fastening, requiring no other aid than the drawing of the strap or other material used to the point at which it is desired to be secured, where it is fastened by the action of the strap upon the leve-r with which it is connected by the loop thereby bringing into action the combined powers of the slide wedge and lever.

What I claim as my invention and desire 'to secure by Letters Patent, s-

l. The slide a, wedge Z) and lever c in connection with the buckle frame, and its adaptation to most of the known forms of buckels as herein described.; or any mechanical equivalent therefor, substantially the same in principle, in such manner as when in use to bring into operation the principles of the combined slide wedge and lever. Y 2. l also claim the employment of the loop c for connecting the wedge or its equivalent with that portion of the strap which is to be fastened; so that by drawing upon the strap the fastening will be drawn into action.

January 10, 1848.

OSCAR S. 'BURGES Witnesses:

JAMES WATSON RILEY, W. WILLsHraE RILEY, J r. 

